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tv   BBC World News  PBS  November 14, 2011 6:00pm-6:30pm PST

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>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. shell. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?
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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to bbc news. >> i'm chris rogers in london. here are the headlines. no letup in the violence in in searia. king abdullah of jordan tells the bbc the president should resign. >> if i was in his position, if it was me, i would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo. >> police shut down an anti-capitalist camp in california. protests vow to regroup and return. >> angela merkel warns europe faces its biggest challenge since the second world war. the nor region gunman who killed 77 people in a shooting rampage in july appeared in open court for the first time. it's 10:00 in the morning here in singapore. >> it's 2:00 a.m. here in london, broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world, this is "newsday."
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>> hello, and welcome. is the net finally tightening around preas sad. the white house said he's increasingly isolate and should go. in an earlier exclusive interview with bbc, king abdullah called to step down. and wants to suspend syria in the violent government crackdown. activists say another 40 people were killed monday. our bbc middle east editor has this report. >> it was another hard and bloody day in holmes, which has become the center of the uprising in syria. most foreign journalists are banned from the country so we're relying get on pictures taken by opponents of the regime and sent out on the internet.
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the assad regime said it's fighting an armed plot encited by foreigners to design the country. but evidence has piled up of security forces killing syrian protesters, many or most of them unarmed. and with broken promises to take armor off the streets, the syrian president is now under intense political pressure to go. the latest coming from the king of jordan in a bbc interview. >> if assad had interest of his country he would step down but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of syrian political life. >> but the answer to the pressure has been defiance of the weekend, pro assad demonstrations were held in da miscuss and elsewhere. his jeam still has loyalists but the opposition has also alleged that students and others were forced to take part and threaten or even shot if they refuse. in damascus this morning, the foreign minister said a decision by the arab league to suspend seeshia's membership was
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malicious and part of a western conspiracy. translator: it's a dangerous step for the future, he said. >> syria is at the troubled center of the middle east, already overloaded with conflict and instability. syria's neighbors are getting nervous about violence, perhaps a civil war spilling into their countries. >> they think when you look at the makeup of syria, when you have kurds, sunnis, christians, muslims, it's a far more complicated fabric and as a result this is why i think all of us in the international community are concerned f it starts to unravel, it's not going to be straightforward libyan scenario. it will be an even more complicated iraqi scenario if that makes any sense to you. >> in damascus, crowds attack the embassies of katear, saudi arabia and turkey, who led the condemnation of what's happening in syria.
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the arab league has a plan to send observers, allowing them in and letting them work will be another test for the regime. assad's men are still powerful, but they haven't been able to stop the demonstrations. it's become a stalemate. foreign pressure now stronger than any time since the uprising started could change the balance. >> police in the united states has carried out an early morning raid on an anti-wall street protest campaign in oakland, california. it came just today after 50 people were arrested during a similar camp in portland, oregon. jonathan joseman reports. >> under the glaring flood lights of a police helicopter, officers move in, their mission simple, close down anti- capitalists protest camp that's become a featured in oakland in california. hundreds have been displaced for several weeks, inspired by
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contemporaries in new york. but last week the situation on the ground changed. a man was murdered in vicinity of the capp. police suspect a link to the protest. authorities say the latest effort to clear the protests is cautious about the drain it's causing on police resources. >> we came this morning because the occupier began to take a different path from the original movement. it was no longer about the abuses of the financial system or for closures or unemployed. the encampment became a place so we had repeated violence and this week a murder. >> dozens of arrests were made and despite the hard-line action, a heavy police presence remains in downtown oakland. deaths in burlington, vermont, and new orleans has also been linked to the occupy protest movement. police have also moved in against anti-capitalists demonstrations being held in portland, oregon and other cities across the united states. it seems the protesters may have
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to find more conventional methods to get their messages heard. jonathan josephs, bbc news. >> a warning europe faces its biggest challenge since the second w >> yes, indeed, chris that's angela merkel, who is at center of attempt to hold of union together, pushing for a stronger political union to overcome the continent's problems. but how do europe's leaders feel about her plan? from brussels, matthew price reports. >> they changed the guard in italy and greece. out with silvio and george, in with the gray men. in rome today, mario monte, the new prime minister, is being hailed the man to save italy and by extension the euro. he's an economist, respected university president, he knows
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how europe works, commissioner for a decade and stauge defender of the euro. today one of his forer students gave this assessment -- >> given the present emergency, he's playing an important role and can be the right man at the right time, at least for a little while. >> financial markets also seemed revealed. but for how long? here in brussels, mario's appointment is broadly welcomed. he's seen as a can-do man. during his time at the commission in brussels, he was known as super mario. yet in becoming prime minister, the fundamentals in italy haven't changed. they still have record levels of debt and interest rate payments on the money they borrow. in greece, too, there's a new leader on the block. lucas papademos is also referred to as a technocrat, economic expert felt to be uninfluenced by public pressure and yet in the greek parliament today it
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was clear that may not possible. the opposition hinted at political problems to come. it could derail greece's next slice of bailout funding. the important point is the euro is still in crisis. just listen to germany's angela merkel today. >> europe is in the middle of its darkest hour. we must not be discouraged by that. we must succeed in getting europe out of this crisis stronger than when it went in. >> but she knows the problem now is trust or lack of it. germany's the only euro country investors see as truly safe. italy and greece ma have changed the guard but they and others reremain under huge pressure. matthew price, bbc news, brussels. >> as the debt crisis looks set to reshape relations between members of the european union,
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the british prime minister david cameron made his most outspoken remarks yet about the need for change in europe. speaking at the lord mayor's banquet at the guild hall in london, he said he yearned for fundamental reform with powers ebbing back, not flowing away. >> for years people who suggested doing less at the european level have been accused of not being committed to a successful european union. but we skeptics have a vital point. we should look skeptically at grand plans and utopian visions. we have a right to ask what the european union should and shunt do and change it accordingly. change brings opportunities. and opportunity to begin to refashion the e.u. so it better serves this nation's interests and interests of its other 26 nations too. >> the gunman ho confessed to killing 77 people in a bomb
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attack and shooting rampage in july appeared in open court for the first time. he appeared to give a speech justifying his actions but was cut off by the judge. richard galpin has more. >> as he was brought from his prison cell to court, anish bravic knew today it would be different. for the first time the hearing would be open to the public. and outside the courtroom in the capital, long queues of people, including relatives of those killed in the attacks and some of those who survived. this their chance to be face to face with the man responsible for the tragedy. >> i want to understand why -- not understand but get a meeting of what he did what he did. >> the hearing itself was to decide whether breivik could still be kept in prison before a full trial next year the --
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year, which the courts agreed to. we're not allowed to show pictures of breivik during today's hearing but he told those present he was a commander in a resistance movement, fighting norway's multiculture society. it was back in july that breivik went on his killing spree. first with this car bombing targeted the main government buildings in oslo. on a holiday island near, opening fire on a summer camp, killing almost 70 people here, many of them teenagers. all of this in the name of a ne-yo nazi ideology aimed at driving all muslims out of norway and the rest of europe. richard galpin, bbc news. >> you're watching "newsday" on the bbc live from singapore and london. still to come --
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>> and breaking the rules. improvising to keep the orchestra on its toes. here in the u.k., two men, gary dobson and david norris appeared in court charged with the murder of steven lawrence, 18 years after the black teenager's death. the student was traveled twice by youths in southeast london in 1993. bailey was told any scientific evidence will be central to the proceedings. tom simons now reports. >> steven lawrence was 18 when he died. he was stabbed while waiting for a bus late one night in south alan done. for his mother doreen, it was a loss made so much worse by the fact that no one has ever been convicted of the killing. his father neville also came to see this trial begin.
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the two accused men, david norris on the left, 35. gary dobson, 36. both deny murder. this was a case with a tortuous history. steven died on the 22nd of april 1993. court hearings in the mid-90's and inquest in 1997. such was concern about the case that a full public inquiry was held in 1998, chaired by lord macpherson. the judge plrks tracy said this case aroused strong feelings. the police would be accused about their competence but told the court what happened in the past was now irrelevant. this case said it to start with a clean slate. >> judge said a reinvestigation of the case led to new scientific evidence. there would be an examination of its relyability. the two accused men questioned the handling of that evidence. the jurorless consider who killed steven lawrence -- jurors will consider who killed
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lawrence will expect a trial stretching into next year. >> for more on that story and all of the stories we're covering on newsday, do go to the bbc news website where you will find full analysis, background, video and audio content. >> this is newsday on the bbc. >> chris rogers in london. the headlines. king abdullah of jordan told the bbc syria's president, bash iral assad should step down. he's the first arab leader to do so openly. >> police in the united states have closed down an anti-wall street protest camp in the california city of oakland. it's just a day since at least 50 people were arrested in a similar clear-out of a camp in portland, oregon. the chinese dissident and artist
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way sent nearly 1.5 million to help fight a huge tax bill that he says is government harassment. the support money is enough for him to put down a guarantee of more than 8 million yuan by tuesday required by the tax authority to obtain -- he was detained nearly three months earlier this year. and joining me for details from beijing is our correspondent martin patient. way is do to make a payment by the end of the day. what is the latest on that? >> that's right. there's been so many twists and turns in this case. he needs to post this bond in order to fight the tax charges against him. the artist and supporters say these tax charges are politically motivated. now previously, the artist told me he wanted to post his mother's house as collateral to
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fight the charges. authorities ruled that out. they say he needs to pay it in catch. and thousands of supporters have donated more than a million dollars in order to pay this casm bill. he said he's not going to use that money. what september clear is whether or not the authorities will accept this cash and the reason for that is there are some suggestions, strong suggestions in the state media that they might consider this as a legal fund-raising. so this case still has a long way to run. >> so there any chance, martin, aiwayway will be arrested again? >> it was a marquee case. he was arrested earlier this year. incommunicado three months. the legal proceedings are not clear against him. i was speaking to the artist a few days ago and he said the authorities make up the rules as
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they go along. sadly if his point of view, he's ruling nothing out. >> so if this could be an illegal fund-raising eestronet pay his taxes, he's received a lot of money from his supporters. if it's not accepted by the government, what is likely to happen to that money? >> it's very difficult to know. this whole case is very marquee. what we know is he raised more than a million dollars. a lot has come through online donations. in some cases it's literally been chucked over the wall, thrown over the wall. certainly it's been seen by ai weiwei as support from the people. people have had enough they want to fight authorities. what he said, speak truth to the authorities. authorities, of course, say ai weiwei has committed economic crimes. they say he needs to pay this tax bill on his company on they say they're falling all legal
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proceedings. but i think certainly ai weiwei and his supporters and authorities will be following this case very, very carefully because what it's displaying is putting under the spotlight is the rule of law in china and individual's right to speak out. >> thank you so much for this update. in other news now, police in venezuela contained five colombians suspected in involvement in the kidnap of major league baseball plier wilson ramos. the catcher for the washington nationals was freed by the military friday, two days after he was abducted in the mountains northwest of valencia. six venezuelans are also in custody over the kidnapping. officials in bangkok agreed to allow residents to remove a section of a major flood barrier. people living in the north of the capital have moved six meters of sandbags to drain floodwaters out of theirar and into the city's center. more than 500 people died in
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thailand's worst flooding for half a century. a cautious welcome to the reforms burma has seen since she was freed from house arrest a year ago. the pro-democracy leader highlighted her meetings with prtezz and labor minister as examples of progress. but she said more needs to be done, including an amnesty for more political prisoners. and an important inquiry into british press standards has gotten under way. >> yes, indeed, lord justerson's inquiry has revealed 28 staff at news international were involved in phone hacking. and emerged there were thousands of victims. the inquiry will be looking at whether the press can be left to set its own standards. as he put it at the opening, who will guard the guardians? >> it was the scandal that began with the news of the world, britain's biggest selling
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newspaper and one of its branches. the revelation that the paper had hacked into the murdered school girl's voicemails from outrage, paper's closure and inquiry. the parents of madeleine mccann, politicians like lord prescott, along with celebrities like j.k. rowling, hugh grant and see yean miller, are among victims of the intrusion who will give evidence to the inquiry. today in the measured tones of an appeal court judge, the lord issued this warning -- >> concern has specifically been express thad those who speak out might be targeted adversely by the press as a result. i have absolutely no wish to stifle freedom of speech and expression. if it appears that those concerns are made out, without objective justification, it might be appropriate to draw the conclusion that these vital rights are being abused.
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>> today the inquiry heard just how much phone hacking had been done by this man, private detective glen mulcare, originally said to be working for a single rogue reporter. they found notes of not just news of the world but of the sister paper "the sun" and even "the daily mirror," though "the mirror" today again denied any involvement. of all 28, one new to the world journalist alone made more than 400 requests for information. the inquiry was told it will hear evidence from celebrities and order people alike. >> common things or complaints of systematic breaches of privacy, conduct amounting to harassment and unfair, sensationalist and inaccurate reporting. >> the inquiry is actually in two parts. the first is looking at the general culture of the press, relations with the police and politicians and whether the present system of newspaper regulation is broken and if so
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howard should be fixed. the second is into the illegal activities by newspapers which started all of this in the first place. that can't begin until the police finished their investigation, which won't be for many months. the inquirey admitted today it's putting the cart before the horse. in court for the start of the inquiry today was millie's father bob. victims of press intrusion like him will stop giving evidence next week. >> now to a conductor whose instructions follow a different beat. just imagine leading an orchestra without using any sheet music. that's exactly what lawrence butmorris has been perfecting more than 25 years. in this first-person accounts, morris talks about the music he hopes to inspire. >> it all started with questions, questions i was having about music. and eventually i realized i
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wanted to find my voice in music. probably out of 199 conductions i have done in 19 countries, only 6 of those used any notation whatsoever. >> this is the sign for graphic, this is the sign for sustain. this is the sign for repeat. this means to interpret the batten. this is higher on your instrument and this is lower on your instrument. conduction is a vocabulary of science and gestures, directives. and it's built on principles, not rules. if i'm going to write let's say a score for orchestra, i could say i will make the trumpets do this. i will make the violins do this. here i want oboes and bassoons to do this, it's the same thing. only i'm not doing it with a pencil. i'm doing it with a baton. you decide where the tonalty is,
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all right? you decide where the tonalty is. as a matter of fact, this means resolve. if i say, if we're someplace and i say resolve this information and i give a down beat, you resolve it. i was looking for a way to make ensemble music more flexible. ensemble music is generally very static and stoic. every week we come here plain the same music differently. i saw where music could be changed, where things could be changed in the moment. and i wanted to have that ability. >> i don't know, darling, pick a note. >> all right. cool. >> they're not used to making music. they're used to interpreting notation. so i'm asking them to make music, to create music in real
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time. this lays the ground work for a whole new investigation of music and what music can do and what music has to offer. >> from spectacular music to spectacular pictures, this is the most active volcano. it's putting on quite a show at the moment for anyone who can get close enough to see it. the volcano in the remote area of the democratic republic of congo's ma roongia national park is in the midst of its biggest eruption in a century. experts say it's producing lava mountains up to 400 meters high. >> you have been watching "newsday" from the bbc. >> i'm chris rogers in london. do stay with us.
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>> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.
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>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los
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